


The Bait

by Leia_Naberrie



Series: Dr. Parker [3]
Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Not Underage, getting there, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-15 09:32:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9228884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leia_Naberrie/pseuds/Leia_Naberrie
Summary: If you're going to strong-arm the all-powerful Leader of the Gemini Coven, you need to have the right leverage.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So… at this point in this AU tale, Kai’s somehow managed to get rid of Klaus and Elijah, and only Rebecca remains in Mystic Falls on the promise/threat of good behaviour. He’s also locked up Stefan on a sort of supernatural time out. Damon’s not happy. This story starts when Bonnie goes to the Memorial Hospital to see Dr. Parker and relay a message from Damon.

Bonnie had been waiting in his office for longer than the few minutes Nurse Thelma told her, and she finally gave into her urge to take a closer look at that picture on the desk.  

Kai Parker was young in it, probably just a few years older than Bonnie was now. The girl with long dark hair and perfect cheekbones draped across his chest also looked about that age. They both wore identical dark shades and identical arrogant smirks on their faces as they stared sullenly at the camera.

Who was this woman? Bonnie wondered, trying to look through those opaque shades. Obviously someone important to him otherwise Bonnie won’t keep seeing her pictures everywhere. His office. His flat. 

Whoever she was, she and Kai Parker in that picture fitted in a way that gnawed at Bonnie as she glared at their perfect faces. They even looked alike. 

Was she a Gemini witch? A friend? A…. girlfriend? He wore so many rings, she could even be his wife. 

Bonnie felt her heart trip a little, as she considered that, and then she scowled. 

She didn’t care about any of  _that_. She was just curious because she wanted to know more about Dr. Parker, to even things out since he seemed to know everything about her and her family.

The door of the office opened and Bonnie quickly tried to put the picture frame away. Only her haste – and guilt – made her clumsy, and the table ended up being a bit farther away than her aim.

The frame fell to the floor, glass spraying, she jumped.

Dr. Parker stared at her, then at the picture on her feet.

She wanted to die.

“I-I’m so sorry. I…”

He was silent, as he walked towards her. She fought back the instinctive urge to step back, partly because of what she had done but mostly because there was always something about him - tall, large, practically radiating power - that threatened to overwhelm her. And her response to that was to rise up to it, stand more firmly on her ground.

He gave her a once-over with his dark eyes, and Bonnie was suddenly conscious of her skinny jeans, the one that Elena called the ‘Bonnie Butt-Attack’ jeans; the new floral green blouse with the matching earrings that brought out her eyes, and her hair that she had asked Caroline to pin up for her to make her look older. 

Because Bonnie took pride in her appearance, not because she had been dressing up to impress anyone. That would have been silly. Plus she had a boyfriend. Sort-of. Kind-of.

His face had clouded over, looking at her, then he bent down to pick up the frame. She half-expected him to simply put the pieces back together with magic, but he didn’t. He just stayed crouching, his head bowed over the frame he held in his hands.

“You’re bleeding,” she whispered.

He looked up then, and his eyes were stormy.

Her breath hitched. “I’m sorry.”

He looked away, rising to his feet, with the frame still in his hands, and murmuring under his breath. She felt his magic shimmer through the air, making the hair on her neck stand on end, and the pieces of glass rose slowly from the floor, falling back into the frame.

When he placed it back on his desk, it was intact, no evidence of Bonnie’s recent clumsiness in sight.

He gave a small nod to himself, then went to the sink at the corner of the office to wash his hands. “So I’m guessing something other than the pressing need to destroy my property brought you here.” His voice was perfectly calm, just the slightest hint of amusement and it was like if that moment of intensity had never happened.

It was not the first time he had given her mood whiplash. 

He had rolled up his sleeves after the first rinse, so that he could wash up to his elbows. The dark hair slicked flat on his tan skin as water ran over the rippling muscles. 

Between that and the magic that still hovered in the air, Bonnie felt her mouth go completely dry.

“Bonnie…?”

He was drying his arms now, and she managed to tear her eyes away to look at his face. His head was cocked to one side, his eyebrows raised.

She jerked herself out of her stupor, coughing hard to hide her embarrassment and the blood that was flooding her face.

“Yes, I… er…” Was it her imagination or was he smirking a little? She shook her head, pulling herself together. “Damon Salvatore… wants his brother back.”

Whatever little humor on Dr. Parker’s face vanished at once.

“Please tell me that you’re not playing messenger for a vampire because I’m sure we’ve gone over that already.”

She bristled, and the heat in her face now was from anger. “I am not. I’m just trying to keep the peace here. You don’t want to cross Damon. He’s dangerous.”

He raised his arms, walking backwards with fake fear on his face. “Ooooh, I’m quaking in my boots.” He tossed the towel to the rail and walked back to his desk. “The big bad vamp is coming after me. Whatever am I going to do?” He grinned up at her as he reclined on his chair, crossing his boots on the desk.

“This. isn’t. funny,” she said through gritted teeth, fighting her irritation and the distraction of his face when it was smiling. It made him look younger, his grey eyes glittering in a way that was almost hypnotic.  

“It kind of is,” he said, still grinning. “We got half of the Original family out of Mystic Falls, but it’s a hundred-year-old bully that I should _really_ be worried about.”

“ _We_ didn’t do anything. You did,” Bonnie muttered. She sank down into the chair across from him.

He stopped smiling then, gave her stern look. “Don’t sell yourself short, Bonnie. It was your idea to leverage the coffins. My plans were a bit more violent. It saved us a lot of bloodshed in the end.”

She shrugged, not really caring. “That’s because you were dealing with people that can be reasoned with. I’ve seen Damon in action many times. He’s Mr. Act First, Think Later. You can’t reason with him.”

One corner of his mouth went up. “Then things are about to get exciting again, aren’t they? If I had known I’d have this much fun in Mystic Falls, I’d have tried to stay a little longer. Too bad my rotation ends this month.”

Bonnie started, sitting up. “What?”

“The position I’ve been standing in for was filled yesterday. I have a few weeks to show Dr. Fell the ropes, then I’m going back to Portland.” He winked. “Out of trouble. Out of danger.”

Going away. It hit her like a freight train.

“I didn’t know you were going to leave,” she managed to say, too distraught to check her words.

He was still smiling a little, but there was a soberness in his gray eyes. Or was she imagining it?

“All good things come to an end, Bonnie.”

She opened her mouth to answer that – she had no idea what she had planned to say – but nothing came out because her throat was almost closing.

She stood up. “I… I have to go,” she finally managed.

He sat up, taking his feet off the desk. “Bonnie…”

“Bye, Dr. Parker. Try… try to watch your back.” She muttered, walking to the door quickly.

“Bonnie, wait…” He was standing up as she opened the door, and she almost ran into the nurse that had been about to step in.

“Oh, excuse me. Doctor, I have the lab tests from…?”

Bonnie seized her chance to flee.

She was out of the hospital in five minutes, walking quickly to the parking lot. She tried – and failed – to process the feelings that had suddenly, devastatingly overwhelmed her.  

What was the big deal? She had known early on that his stay in Mystic Falls was not permanent.

Besides, Bonnie thought, blinking hard against her tears as she walked rapidly. She should be used to this by now. Everybody left her. Her mom. Her dad, whose job was more important than the daughter he claimed he was working so hard to provide for. Jeremy. Elena had refused to speak to her since Stefan was taken, and Caroline in an effort not to ‘choose sides’ wasn’t speaking to either of them. 

Even her grandmother had left. 

Why the hell did she think some distant long-lost protégé/ally of her dead grandmother was going to stick around? Just because he had swooped in like some avenging angel and rescued her from the mess that she could now see she was drowning in? Dealt with Klaus and Elijah. Helped her get her magic back from the spirits. Showed up Professor Shane for the manipulator that he was and kept him away from her.

All that was his coven business, Bonnie thought bitterly, and maybe some of it was for Sheila’s sake. It had nothing to do with her. He had a life in Portland, a practice and a coven to run, and a beautiful dark-haired woman waiting for him there.

By the time she reached her car, she was legit crying. She fumbled with her keys, cursing herself under her breath.

A hand touched her shoulder.

Bonnie recoiled with a scream.

But it was only a slightly older girl, college-age, darker skinned than Bonnie with large, vacant brown eyes.

“I’ve got a message for you.” She was holding out a phone to Bonnie.

The eyes had been a warning and Bonnie told herself later that she should have reacted quickly, but she reached for the phone out of sheer instinct.

“Did you talk to your Doctor Can’t Mind His Own Business?”

Bonnie sighed at the sound of Damon Salvatore’s angry voice, turning slightly away from the other girl on instinct. “Damon, you just have to wait this out. What’s a few decades to a vampire?” In all fairness, the Salvatore brothers were lucky that Dr. Parker had just desiccated Stefan, and not staked him like he had earlier told Bonnie. She still wasn’t quite sure what made him change his mind.

“No, that’s not going to work for me, Bon Bon.”

She narrowed her eyes at the distance. “Well, you don’t have a choice here, do you?”

“Actually I do. Or rather, your doctor does. It’s called a trade. Someone important to him in exchange for my brother.”

She scoffed. “Trade? Who, Damon? You managed to get hold off a Gemini witch?” Briefly, the image of the dark-haired girl flashed through Bonnie’s mind.

He scoffed back. “Something even better. Give the phone back to Clarissa, will you?”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Damon. You know what happened to Klaus.”

“Give the phone back, Bon.”

Shaking her head at his stupidity, and all the trouble that was about to happen because of it, Bonnie turned around to the girl who had stepped forward with the phone. “Hey, I think I can hel-”

The needle stabbed through her arm like a dagger, and Bonnie stared in shock as the swirling liquid in the hypodermic syringe emptied rapidly.

She staggered back, shoving the girl slightly but her vision was already clouding, her movements clumsy and weak and she fell against the car.

She was slumping to the ground, darkness rapidly closing in, when she felt strong arms lift her up.

“Sorry, Bon Bon, but you’re the bait.”


	2. Chapter 2

Bonnie’s prison was an abandoned cabin somewhere in the woods. Bonnie had no idea where it was, but from the news, she knew they were still in Virginia. She did a lot of TV-watching, sitting on the sofa in the sparsely furnished living room with Clarissa, eating popcorn.  

Clarissa. That was the name of Bonnie’s jailer. She went to Whitmore – college student like Bonnie had guessed – and had family up state.   Whenever Bonnie suggested that she should go to class, call home, or even go out for a coffee, her pretty animated face would freeze, and her brown eyes would glaze over.    

She was Bonnie’s jailer but they were both Damon’s prisoners.

Bonnie’s magic didn’t work. There were powerful wards all through the house and Bonnie wondered if the witch he had got to help cage her, was even still alive.

They both sat on the sofa, watching TV and eating popcorn when the phone rang.

Clarissa didn’t even look up. “It’s for you.”

Bonnie shook her head and reached for it. She’d rather not, but the last time she refused, Damon had made Clarissa hold a knife against her own throat.

“What?” Bonnie snapped now.

“Good news, BonBon.” He sounded smug. Bonnie imagined the look on his face as he spoke – the one that was practically begging for someone to knock out his teeth. “I’ve got my brother back.”

Bonnie’s heart jumped. “No.”

He laughed, voice brimming with triumph. “I told you, didn’t I? Everyone has a weakness. The all-powerful Gemini leader’s just happens to be you.”

Despite herself, Bonnie felt her heart slam at his words. Then she mentally slapped herself. This was not the time to be silly. “All you did was take advantage of his promise to my grandmother to watch out for me. Something that  _you_  also promised Emily Bennett but couldn’t keep. You’re despicable.”

“Now don’t get mad, BonBon, because you don’t want to get your hopes up for your crush,” he cooed. “I told your Knight where to find you. It’s about two hours drive from Mystic Falls so I’m guessing you’ll be safe in your bed by nightfall. Or his bed, who knows?” He laughed.

“Shut up, Damon!”

He was still laughing. “Let me talk to Clarissa, OK?”

Bonnie was seconds away from handing the phone, when she hesitated. “Why?”

“I’ve got to let her know you’re free to go and cut her loose. Don’t want her to spend the rest of her life in that house now, do you?”

Made perfect sense except…

Bonnie stared at the profile of the girl whose eyes were fixed on the TV.

“Sure,” she said. “Dr. Parker is on his way, right?” Slowly, she started walking away from Clarissa.

Now it was his turn to be suspicious. “Yes…”

“Good.”

She cut the call, and quickly switched off the phone permanently. Then she put the phone back on her ear, and continued talking like if Damon was still on the other end of the line. “You won’t get away with this, you know.”

She kept up the pretend conversation for the next ten minutes, enough to do a full circle round the room, and casually slip the phone behind her back, and under the sofa.

She went back to sit next to Clarissa, helped herself to some popcorn and put up her feet.

Clarissa turned to her. “Where’s the phone?”

Bonnie made a show of checking the table. “Ooops. It’s slid off.” She hopped off. “Sorry but can you get it? I’m going to fill up my cup. Want something?”

“Water, thanks!” Clarissa replied, distracted, as she leaned forward to check the table.

Bonnie took her time in the kitchen.

“I can’t find it!” Clarissa cried.

“It’s under the TV stand.”

“It’s not!”

Bonnie stepped out of the kitchen with the drinks. Clarissa was on the floor in front of the stand, stretching under it. She turned to give Bonnie a panicked glance.

Bonnie went round to the side of the stand. “I can see it,” she said very excitedly. She leaned down, stretched. “I just can’t…. Aargh!”

“What?” Clarissa asked.

“I think I slid it back further.” She checked the back. There was a mess of cables, an extension box, something that looked like a mouse trap. Bonnie didn’t have to pretend to hold back a hurl. “I am not putting my hand there.”

Clarissa was already there, bodily shoving Bonnie out of the way. “Get out.”

Her calm of a few minutes before had vanished. Her movements were agitated, nervous, almost like a junkie needing a fix.

The effects of the compulsion, Bonnie knew. Goodness knows what exactly Damon had told the girl but it clearly involved her having that phone with her at all times.

Bonnie swallowed as she watched Clarissa shove at the stand, trying to push it away.

“Move.” Clarissa was muttering.

“I-I’ll just go to the bathroom then,” Bonnie murmured. Clarissa didn’t even look up as she made her escape.

She locked herself inside, put the seat down, and sat on the toilet. Her heart was hammering. Dr. Parker won’t be here for another two hours, and until then anything could happen. Clarissa could turn dangerous, if she suspected that Bonnie was playing her. Damon himself could turn up – could a vampire out run a car? – and tell Clarissa in person what Bonnie suspected he had planned to tell her over the phone.

Because Bonnie knew Damon enough to predict how he worked. Now that her kidnap was over, he was going to tie up loose ends. Clarissa was a loose end. He had planned on compelling her to murder herself. Bonnie was not going to let that happen.

So she locked herself away, and prayed to everything that she could wait it out for Dr. Parker before Clarissa snapped. It was funny, really, that right now Bonnie was in the greatest danger from the person she was trying to protect.

Barely fifteen minutes had passed before Bonnie heard a thunderous noise that seemed to shake the walls of the cabin.

Then a scream of pure fury.

“BONNIE! BONNIE YOU EFFING BRAT!”

She stood up, her heart beating, and tried – and failed – for the hundredth time to do magic. But she couldn’t. She could feel her magic there, beating under her skin, but she couldn’t  _grasp_  it, for lack of a better expression.

“BONNIE! THE PHONE IS NOT UNDER THE STAND!”

Clarissa had toppled it over. Shock radiated through Bonnie at the thought of the girl, who didn’t look like she weighed 100 lbs soaking wet, toppling that massive piece of furniture. But she was under compulsion. Which was making her irrational, and superhuman, if she needed to be to fulfil whatever task she had been compelled to do.

And now Bonnie was in her way.

In a few heartpounding moments, there was a rush of movement at the door, and then loud pounding.

“GIVE ME THE EFFING PHONE, YOU EFFER OR I’LL BREAK DOWN THIS DOOR AND KICK YOUR ASS!”

“I don’t have it!” Bonnie screamed. “It’s in the kitchen.”

“WHERE?”

“The drawers over the fridge.”

The sounds at the door – panting, almost sobbing – receded. Bonnie climbed to the top of the toilet and checked the window.

It wasn’t the first time she had tried that since she got here. But this time, she held the handle firmly, ignoring the burning sensation in her arms, hoping that if she could only outlast the wards…

She yanked her arms back with a scream, and stared with horror at her burning hands.

She had just yanked them under cold running water from the tap when she heard another cursing yell from Clarissa.

Bonnie’s eyes did a quick scan of the bathroom, dived into the closet and pulled out the mop stick. The thought of striking Clarissa – anyone in fact – made her sick but maybe a good strong thwack would knock her out cold, long enough for Dr. Parker to make an appearance.

Loud footsteps pounded up the door. Then the sound and vibration shook it as a body made impact with it.

“It’s under the sofa!” Bonnie screamed.

“YOU LIAR! YOU HAVE IT!”

“No, I swear!”

Another large impact. Bonnie’s heart jumped. Clarissa was kicking the door in. And goodness knows what she’ll do to Bonnie when she broke it down.

“Damon said not to hurt me.”

There was pause. Then Clarissa kicked the door again. “I  _need_ that phone. I won’t hurt you.” And the semi-reasonable voice she used was scary, “if you just gave it to me.” She kicked the door again. “GIVE ME THE PHONE, BONNIE!”

“I told you. It’s downstairs!”

“LIAR!”

And with one last kick, the door slammed open.


	3. Chapter 3

The door smashed against the wall of the bathroom and Clarissa came charging at her, and Bonnie just barely had a glimpse of wild eyes, wilder hair and the grasp of her own certainty that she wasn’t going to fight back, when Clarissa froze.

Literally. Both her feet were actually suspended above the ground. For the fraction of a microsecond, Bonnie’s brain was frozen too, then it clicked and she stretched out her hand.

“Don’t hurt her!”

There was a muffled curse from behind the frozen girl’s body, then like the strings of a puppet being cut off, she fell out of her suspension, and collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap.

Bonnie was just raising her eyes from the floor when he crashed into her, the breath rasping out her lungs as she felt her entire body lifted up in a huge bear hug. Her arms and legs went up and around instinctively, desperately, as she returned it as much as she could.

“Are you OK? Bonnie? Are you hurt?”

His hand was in her hair, shaking as he stroked it, and he was trying to pry her face out of his neck to look at her, but she only clung harder, not wanting to let go.

After a while, he stopped, and rather, held her, pressing her face even closer and whispering soothing words into her hair. “You’re safe now, OK? I’ve got you, Bonnie. I’ve got you.”

She didn’t even realize she was crying until she felt the wetness on his skin. Finally, she lifted her face and wiped at her cheeks.

“You found me,” Bonnie whispered into his neck. “You found me.”

She could feel Kai Parker’s fingers in her hair, tugging slightly and she finally pulled back, his bristled skin grazing hers as their cheeks slid past each other. He hadn’t shaved in days, his beard thicker than she had ever seen it. For a moment, their mouths were mere inches from each other, and they were breathing the same air. Her eyes flickered from his mouth to his eyes, bloodshot and stormy, staring at her like the way she always dreamed he would, like if she was his whole world.

His fingers curled round her head, cupping it, and his thumbs rubbed against her cheeks. “Are you OK? Are you hurt?” His eyes roamed over her face, searching.

She shook her head mutely, afraid to speak and break the moment. His voice was so low, she could almost feel it in his chest against hers. 

The storm in his eyes lifted marginally at her answer. “Good,” he murmured. “Good.” Their faces were close enough that she could close her eyes and almost sense his words from the play of his breath on her face. His gaze slowed its scan of her, to focus on her mouth, and she stopped breathing.

“Bonnie,” he said hoarsely.

She licked her lips, felt his gaze turn scorching. Almost against her will, her eyes starting falling closed…

Then they flew open when she felt him abruptly put her down, holding her by an elbow. “Can you walk?” He asked, and his voice sounded completely different now, curt, detached.

Bonnie could … barely. She swayed on her feet, and his arm held her in place. She looked up at him, at his aloof face, his eyes were not on her but scanning the room, such a difference from a few moments ago, and she felt dizzy.

“Who’s that?”

She turned to follow his gaze. He was looking at Clarissa. His face was almost completely expressionless, but there was a hardening in his eyes that alarmed her.

“She’s an innocent!” Bonnie said quickly. “A human that Damon compelled.”

“You locked yourself in here. She was breaking this door down when I got here. Why?”

Bonnie quickly filled him in of everything that had happened since Damon’s call, and her own decision to hide the phone.

“I know how he operates,” she said with disgust. “Human life means nothing to him and she was a loose thread. He would have asked her to kill herself. Please can you help her?”

Dr. Parker’s jaw hardened. He let Bonnie go to bend over Clarissa’s prone body. He felt the pulse in her neck, then rested his palm on her forehead. Bonnie shivered as she felt the waves of magic pouring out of him.

“How did you get here so quickly? He told me it was a two hour drive.”

“I’ve been around here before. I ported to the closest place I could remember, then got here as fast as I could.”

Bonnie laughed, feeling faint. “Of course.”

He turned Clarissa around, so that she was lying on her back. “She’s safe for now. She won’t harm herself if she wakes up. But I’ll have to come back for her, and get her help.”

“But you can help her?” Bonnie asked, eagerly.

He hesitated. “Bonnie…”

“Please. She has… a family looking for her somewhere. Please.”

He stared at her in surprise. “Why do you care so much? She held you prisoner. She would probably have attacked you if I hadn’t got here.”

“It wasn’t her choice. She’s as much a victim in this as I am,” Bonnie insisted.

He was still staring at her, something indecipherable flickering through his face. Then he turned away. “I’ll do my best.” He got to his feet, and took her by the arm. “But we have to go now.”

“What about Damon? If he comes here and finds…”

He chuckled now, incredulously. “Are you still so worried…?” He broke off his words, shook his head. “Don’t worry about her. She’s safe from Damon. Damon Salvatore,” and now his voice and face hardened, “is not going to harm anyone ever again.”

Bonnie swallowed. The anger that was radiating out of him now wasn’t directed at her, but it was still a little frightening. “What did you do to him?” she asked.

He shook his head. “It’s better you don’t know.” He was leading her out of the room.

Bonnie turned to give Clarissa one last look, then she looked up at the man beside her. “Tell me.”

Parker’s smile was crooked – and evil. “I gave him what he wanted.”

His smile made her shiver and she almost felt sorry for Damon.

Almost.

They both stood in the middle of the living room now, and Bonnie barely had a moment to take in the wreckage that it was, before he pulled her into his arms.

She gasped, her hands landing on his chest, lingering there for a moment, before she snatched them back, folding them awkwardly in the small space between their bodies.

She stared up in shock at his face, carefully expressionless as he stared down at her with hooded eyes. “Porting spell,” he said curtly. “Brace yourself.”

His hands on her back seemed to brand her, and that was before she felt the magic pouring out of his body, his eyes glowing silver with power.

Brace yourself, he had said. He had no idea, Bonnie thought weakly as the magic started swirling around and over her, but it was already too late for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Kai Parker kissed her. No, kissing was an understatement. He didn’t kiss her. He _devoured_ her. One moment he was standing by the door, staring at her. The next moment he had grabbed her, lifting her bodily from the ground, and bent her almost double as he plundered her mouth. She felt like if she was falling, suffocating too, with only his arms like iron around her as support; and she whimpered, as panic rose in her. Then she was flying as he lifted her, her own arms barely grabbing onto his broad shoulders for dear life, and pushed her against the wall, his body locking her into place.

“Ow!” Bonnie managed to gasp into the fraction of an inch of space that had emerged between their lips.

“Sorry,” he said hoarsely, his heavy-lidded eyes trained on her mouth. Then he closed that inch of space and opened her mouth with his own.

Now his kiss was gentler, softer as if the first one had been necessary for him to desperately take off an edge, and now he could relax and take his time. And take his time he did, his lips mapping her own, then his tongue lazily, languidly stroking every part of her mouth, mating and stroking against her own until she was moaning plaintively, that momentary panic a distant memory as her whole body jerked against his own, as his kissing went right into her head. She was acutely aware of every movement of his mouth, as she was aware of the delicious feel of his tall, hard muscled frame against her softer, smaller body. The way one hand spanned her waist, and burnt like a brand into her skin, while the other was more restless, running fingers through her hair, then stroking her cheek, then her neck, down her arm and then up again.

With a frantic moan, she broke away from the kiss and leaned back, whimpering with relief when his mouth simply travelled from her own to her throat, a trail of electric sparks lighting up as his teeth nibbled against her skin, and then his tongue stroked away the pain.

His hair was soft under her fingers; Bonnie hadn’t even been conscious of reaching up to grab his head and hold him in place against her. Her other arm clung onto his shoulder for dear life, feeling the muscles of his back bunching beneath her bare skin.

Her body was shaking now, in earnest. If she could think, she’d probably have imagined that she was either going to pass out if they continued this for much longer or pass out if they stopped.

* * *

She woke up so abruptly that for a moment, she could almost taste his mouth, feel the pressure of arms like iron holding her desperately.

Then cold reality set in, and she shivered because she was cold and alone…

…and in a hospital bed.

Bonnie stared around herself in shock. Monitors beeped softly around her. The room was dimly lit, with most of the light coming from the beeping monitors that surrounded her. Through the blinds, she could see from the shade of light that it was late evening. A soft noise made her snatch her gaze from the window and look around her, until her gaze landed on the tall, broad figure in a white doctor’s coat slumped on the chair by her bed.

Dr. Parker.

Her heart thumped at the sight of him, blood rushing to her face, the memory of the dream still so vivid. It was not the first time she’d had naughty thoughts of Dr. Parker. But none had ever been so vivid, so real.

It was a good thing that he was asleep because Bonnie didn’t know how she would have reacted if she had turned to look at those steady, grey eyes watching her, peering her with an intensity that sometimes made her legit scared that he could read minds.

But now, for the first time in their acquaintance, she could watch him unchecked and drink him fully. The long frame, his legs splayed out before him. The muscles of his arms where they lay folded across his broad chest. All of that was toe-curlingly sexy and compelling, yes, but what really did her in – and had from the start was his face. At once austere, foreboding even, then in a heartbeat, irrepressible, giddy with an almost manic humour. And now, she saw a new side to that face. Vulnerable, young, even. All the stern lines, and the gorgeous but intimidating profile, relaxed into something softer, sweeter, that tugged at her heart. Unbidden, she felt tears pool into her eyes.

Jeremy was absolutely right.

_You’re gone, girl. Absolutely gone._

She wiped her eyes with her hand – or tried to. The appendage was weighed down with a scary amount of wires and tubes, and when she instinctively yanked, a monitor started wailing.

Parker’s eyes flew open and he was on his feet in one smooth, sudden movement, leaning over her with sharp eyes. One hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, his thumb pushing past the wires to land unerringly at her pulse, while the other gently but firmly, pried her lids apart to glare into her eyeball.

Bonnie yelped a little, and flattened herself on her bed, feeling guilty.

“Sorry, my hand…” she started, but he had released her, and swept over to the offending monitor. With a few buttons, he snapped off the alarm, at the same moment that a crowd of medical staff rolled into Bonnie’s room with gloved hands and sombre looks on their faces.

Dr. Parker informed them in a few words that it was a false alarm. As one, they turned to glare balefully at Bonnie.

Bonnie’s face burned, and she sunk further into the bed, wondering if anyone would notice if she did a spell to sink right through it.

As one, they all shuffled out eventually – all except one curly-haired brunette doctor that used fixing back the detached wires in Bonnie’s wrist as a reason to hang around her room. Bonnie knew that it was an excuse from the way the woman’s eyes kept lingering on Dr. Parker, and the breathy, flirty voice she used. She kept hopping from Bonnie’s side to the monitor, to check its settings and somehow managing to bump her lanky body into Dr. Parker every-time she did so. She brushed past him for the third time, and was almost at Bonnie’s side, when she tripped on the flat floor.

“Careful,” Bonnie said quietly through gritted teeth when the older woman caught herself on the edge of the bed – and not with her face on the floor like Bonnie had intended.

At least, she hadn’t landed on Dr. Parker either. If she had, Bonnie might have set her on fire.

“Sorry, don’t know what happened,” the doctor muttered, eyeing the ground in surprise.

Dr. Parker shrugged but was it Bonnie’s imagination or was that a glimpse of a grin as he turned his face away?

The woman left soon after, to Bonnie’s immense relief. Of course, that left her alone with Dr. Parker and all the awkwardness that entailed.

Awkwardness on Bonnie’s part, at least. He came to stand over her, and stared down at her with the half-amused, half-patronizing aloofness he sometimes regarded her with. Like some overgrown kid he was stuck babysitting, who amused him with her antics.

She hated it.

“How long have I been here?” she asked brusquely.

He raised a brow at her tone but the patronizing smirk did not waver. “Less than a day. I had you sedated so that you could rest, get your strength back.”

“You should have just called Caroline. She’d have fixed me with vampire blood in minutes.”

He visibly shuddered, and Bonnie was glad at least that that his expression had changed. “Thankfully there are less dangerous and unsanitary methods of healing than walking around with vampire blood in your system.” Unexpectedly, his hand brushed over her forehead, his fingers gently cradling her scalp. “How do you feel?”

She was this close to passing out.

 _Amazing!_ Bonnie screamed inside her head. Outside, she murmured something… hopefully something with words. It was hard to even think when his hand was _touching her head_. Did he know what he was doing to her? How electricity seemed to crackle underneath her skin everywhere his fingers grazed her?

She stared into his dark eyes, fighting desperately to hold his gaze, and not leave her eyes to roll back into her head or worse… moan.

And because she was staring so hard, not even letting herself blink, that’s how she saw that his jaw was ticking. And surely, she didn’t imagine his eyes darkening? Or imagine the low, short sound in his throat as if his breath had stuck there?

“Bonnie!”

Dr. Parker’s face and form was shoved out of her vision, as a mass of thick blonde and brunette hairs crashed into Bonnie’s eyes and mouth, blinding and choking her.

“Hey!” she whimpered, her trapped hands flailing a little, more to push them off her than to hug them.

Dr. Parker’s baritone sounded harshly above them and Elena and Caroline stepped back, looking sheepish.

“Sorry, we’re just so glad you’re OK,” Caroline said, and there were legit tears in her eyes.

Bonnie immediately felt guilty, and she smiled gratefully at her friend. “Thank you. I just woke up a few minutes ago. How did you get here so fast?”

“Alaric told us you’d be out in 24 hours so we timed our visit accordingly,” Elena answered. She looked over her shoulder and gave Dr. Parker a strained half-smile. “He told us to thank you for clearing us to visit.”

He dipped his head curtly. “Don’t stay too long. She still needs her rest.”

He didn’t even glance at Bonnie as he left, the door swinging shut behind him.

Bonnie turned from her pensive stare at the door to catch Caroline staring at her mischievously.

“Now that’s motivation for a girl to turn human, and check herself into urgent care. I’d love to have Dr Sexy Warlock watching over me. Is it just me, Elena?” she asked in a casual tone that made Bonnie’s hackles rise, “but does the good doctor look more and more drop-dead gorgeous everyday?” The question was directed at Elena but it was Bonnie that she stared at as she asked.

Bonnie wished her hands were free so she could throw something at Caroline. She had never told her friend anything about her crush on Dr. Parker, but Caroline being Caroline, had never needed to be told. She just teased Bonnie mercilessly about it any chance she got.

Elena shrugged. “I’d find him better looking if he didn’t keep poking his nose into everyone’s business.”

“I’d hardly say him saving Bonnie from that Creepy Professor was poking his nose,” Caroline said at once. “Or saving your ass from Klaus.”

Elena’s eyes darkened. “He shouldn’t have come after Stefan. He’s practically the reason why Bonnie is here in the first place. If he had left us alone to deal with his ripper problem, Damon won’t have…”

“Where’s Damon?” Bonnie snapped. Both girls started a little at the anger in her voice, but Bonnie didn’t care. Between her own imprisonment and Clarissa, she was ready to jump out of her hospital bed, find him and rip out his heart with her bare hands.

“Didn’t your Dr. Parker tell you?” Elena asked, surprised.

Bonnie went from fury to embarrassment in a heartbeat. “He’s not _my_ Dr. Parker!” She squeaked, steadfastly ignoring Caroline’s dancing eyes.

Elena shrugged. “Well, he swapped Damon for Stefan when he freed Stefan from the Prison world.”

Bonnie gaped. “No way Damon agreed to that.”

Caroline snorted. “Good thing Dr. Parker didn’t _give_ him a choice. He put some kind of hex on Damon when he handed Stefan over. The moment he knew you were safe, Damon got yanked into the Prison World.” She grinned with satisfaction. “I was there. I can still see the look on his face when he realized what was happening. Your Dr. Parker is vicious, Bonnie,” she said and Bonnie refused to rise to the bait and correct her. “Damon was dragged almost slowly out of this world. He knew exactly what was happening to him and he couldn’t stop it. By the time, he had disappeared, he was losing it.”

Elena sniffed a little. Even Bonnie, despite her feelings for the vampire, felt a pang of pity. 

From Caroline’s blithe narration, _she_ wasn’t plagued with any such affliction. “I still don’t understand why he even bothered with prison worlds. When he came looking for you, he was ready to tear out Damon’s guts and feed it to him.” Her eyes sparkled with malice. “Oh, I remember now. He actually did. He only stopped when Damon finally choked out that you were being guarded by someone he compelled to kill you if they don’t hear from him regularly.”

Bonnie shivered, remembering Clarissa’s psychotic break at the end. Elena also looked unhappy, but when she spoke, it was clear it was for different reasons. “The torture was just cruel. Damon had every intention of telling Dr. Parker where Bonnie was. And you know, Caroline, he’s made mistakes, but he’s saved all of us in the past as well. His heart is in the right place…”

Caroline snorted, but said nothing. She and Bonnie exchanged the ‘look’ – the ‘Elena is letting Damon get into her head’ look.

Bonnie had liked to think that Elena was too smart, too strong, to fall for Damon Salvatore’s slimy brand of charm. But then Stefan had gone off with Klaus, and then gone off as a ripper. Caroline had been caught up with a series of drama – first Tyler, then her father, then Klaus himself. And Bonnie had lost her magic and got caught up in Silas’s snares. Which had all served to leave Elena vulnerable, and ripe for Damon to work his way into her life, and her heart. Nothing her friends could tell her against him – when they had time for her – was enough to turn him away.

The idea of that reformed rapist getting his paws on another one of her friends had made Bonnie sick.

Then Dr. Parker had showed up, and suddenly all their worries – from the Michaelsons to Shane to Bonnie’s lost magic to even Caroline’s fanatical father – had vanished. Bonnie couldn’t even begin to imagine what taking them on her own would have cost her.

Bonnie felt her heart clench, thinking about him and all he had done for her.

“How’s Stefan taking it?” Caroline asked Elena now. “He’s dead loyal to Damon.”

A shadow fell over Elena’s eyes. “Stefan is…” She sighed. “I dunno. He came out of the Prison World a changed man. I thought he’d lose it or try something with the Praetor when he realized that he was being exchanged for Damon but Stefan…” Her voice dropped to a low, worried whisper. “Stefan said, ‘Good. Now he’ll know what it feels like to live out another person’s sentence.’” She turned accusing eyes to Bonnie. “What did your Dr Parker tell him?”

“My… What? How would I know?”

“Oh please,” Elena scoffed. “He does everything you ask him to, and you hate Damon.”

Bonnie’s mouth fell open, not knowing what to respond to first – Elena’s crazy, hysterical accusation of Bonnie’s patently non-existent influence over Dr. Parker or her insinuation that everything that happened was an elaborate, underhanded ploy of Bonnie’s to get rid of Damon. She opened her mouth to yell:

“Are you crazy, Elena?” Caroline snapped, taking the words out of Bonnie’s head. “Damon kidnapped her and started this whole mess. If he had left well enough alone, Stefan would have come to his senses in good time.”

“Damon kidnapped Bonnie for a reason. He knew that Parker would do anything for her and he proved it. You were there, Caroline. You saw the way he was when he came looking for her.” Elena shuddered, then glared at Bonnie. “Your precious Dr gave me an aneurysm when I told him I didn’t know where you were, didn’t know anything about Damon’s plans. I thought he was going to kill me just for being useless to him.”

How was it possible, Bonnie thought, that Elena’s frantic words and slightly frightened expression, made Bonnie feel both alarmed and … well, turned on?

“He just…” Bonnie stammered. “My grams… He owed her… He’s looking out for me.”

Caroline snorted. “Yeah, he’s looking out for you, alright. Looking out for your _ass_.”

Bonnie’s face burnt with embarrassed confusion. But before she could stammer out any kind of reply, Elena cut in. “I don’t care why he would do anything for you, Bonnie. I just know that he would. So please, please, please ask him to let Damon go. I know you all think he’s a monster, that you all hate him, but don’t forget the times he was there for us.”

“There for you, you mean,” Caroline muttered.

Elena glared at her, then Bonnie. “There for _us_. We owe him that much.” She eyed Bonnie. “So talk to Dr. Parker, Bonnie?”

When Bonnie didn’t say anything, Elena leaned over, gripping Bonnie’s arms gently but firmly. “Please…”

Bonnie swallowed and looked away.

* * *

“You’re joking?”

Bonnie’s fingers twisted in her lap, and her eyes glanced over his incredulous face to rest on the picture behind his head. “No, I’m not. She asked and I…”

“And you couldn’t just say no? Not even while you lay there in the hospital that he had put you in.”

“I didn’t say yes, either,” Bonnie murmured.

It was a few days after she had woken up at the hospital, and less than twenty-four hours after she had been checked out. Not by Dr. Parker, as she’d have preferred, but by that brunette that Bonnie had resented on principle.

So she made her way to his flat as soon as she could, to find out what was what in all things supernatural in her town. She liked his flat. It was tasteful, and not in a typical bachelor’s pad way, but in a homey way, with his well-stocked kitchen and library of books. She liked the earthy colours, the sparse furniture, the constant scent of brimstone, magic at work.

She did not like the pictures of the dark-haired woman that dotted all around the house. Almost all of them of her with Dr. Parker, standing, sitting, or posing side by side in a way that told Bonnie that they were a team, that it was them two against the world.

_Who was she?_

And most importantly, would Bonnie ever have the courage to ask him?

Not today, at any rate. She asked about Clarissa instead. He assured her that Clarissa was fine. He had unscrambled the more harmful effects of Damon’s compulsion from her mind; and she even had a sensible story to account for her lost time. Then Bonnie asked about Damon and that led to…

“I know there was a good reason why I didn’t kill him,” Dr. Parker’s eyes blazing. “But when you come delivering these half-begging, half-threatening messages from your little friends, it’s hard for me to remember why.”

“Hey!” Bonnie said quickly. “I’m not asking you to free him, OK?”

“That’s not how it sounds from here.”

Here was the armchair where he sat, now stern and intimidating as he glared at her across the centre table, where she sat on the sofa. They sometimes did magic in his living room. Then he would bring soft pillows and they’d seat cross-legged on the floor, a map, a cauldron, a magical device, and one time even bones, on the table between them.

Sometimes, he’d come around to her, place his hands over her own to show her the mechanics of a spell properly. Those moments were both pleasure and torture for Bonnie, being so near him while his magic all but ignited against her skin. Then Bonnie didn’t care if the dark-haired woman was staring out of her frame and judging her. Then it was all Bonnie could do not to turn her head around and kiss Parker on the mouth, and damn the consequences.

After sessions like that, she’d go home and work out her frustration with the help of some of the most delightful, most gut-wrenchingly potent dreams about him.

Just thinking about them now, made her clench her knees together.

She looked away from his suddenly brooding gaze but that made her eyes land on the woman’s picture and she looked to the space on the other side. Her palms were slightly damp from the sudden heat in the space between them, no doubt from her hormonal wanderings.

She had to swallow twice before she could speak. “Look, I can handle my friends. And I’m not asking you, either. I don’t want him out.” She shuddered, and her erstwhile excitement chilled. “For the first time since they both came here, I actually feel safe. The tomb vamps, Katherine, the wolves, Klaus… They were my enemies and I could deal with them as such. But Damon was… He was supposed to be an ally. But you could never trust when he’d turn around and stab you in the back.”

“So… what’s the problem then?”

“I’m worried about Stefan. He’s pissed off at Damon now because of all the stuff that went on with Elena while he was away. But once he calms down, he might… He might come after you.” She looked at him earnestly. “You have to watch your back.”

He snorted. “Now why does this conversation sound familiar?”

“You told me once that Damon was nothing but a big bully, and I see that now. He’s cruel, impulsive but if you have a bigger stick, or more strength or magic, you can get rid of a bully. The real reason he’s survived this long is because of his brother. Stefan is clever, a long-game planner, and he would do anything for his brother. You won’t want him as an enemy.”

To her surprise, rather than retort something curt or dismissive, his face softened. “You’re worried about me, Bonnie?” He asked, and his voice sounded touched.

“Of course, I am,” she said abruptly. Then she felt her face redden. “You… you’ve done all this stuff for me. I mean, for my grandmother, but still… I… I care about you.”

There. She had said it.

Bonnie couldn’t look him in the eye. Not after what she said. Not when the silence that followed turned heavy, thick with tension.

She grabbed her bag hastily and got up.

“So… I… I have to go. My dad is flying in tomorrow morning so my friends are coming over to help me fix up the house before he comes.”

“There are spells for that,” he said and his voice was soft, low. “Stay for the next hour and I’ll teach you.”

Bonnie’s heart jumped as she hesitated. The idea of an hour of practising magic with Dr. Parker was never something she would be able to turn down…

But in her current state, she didn’t know if it wasn’t too much temptation. It was getting so hard to keep her feelings to herself. Not to act on them. Not to do something stupid.

“It’ll be our last lesson before I leave this weekend.”

Bonnie spun around then, but not in conflicted glee but in shock. “What?”

“Yep. You’ve been seeing Dr. Fell.”

It took Bonnie a moment to realize whom he meant. The busty brunette.

“I thought you needed weeks to fill her in?” she exclaimed.

His eyebrows went up in surprise. “You remember that after everything?”

Bonnie just raised her chin, glared at him. He hadn’t answered her question.

He grinned. “Nah, that was just an excuse for me to hang around. Dr. Fell is capable, doesn’t need me looking over her shoulder.”

 _You sure about that?_ Bonnie thought spitefully, remembering that first encounter. Did he have a type? Tall, white, dark hair? Because Bonnie only had one out of the three going for her.

She almost kicked herself at her thoughts. As if she was ever in contending. Dr. Parker thought of her as a teenage-shaped brat.

The thought depressed her.

“You’ve put all your skeletons back in their closet. Your dad is coming home tomorrow…” He shrugged and spread out his arms. “I’m redundant, Bonnie. It’s time for me to move back to the West Coast. Get my tan back.”

She didn’t return his flashy smile. With every word he said, her heart was sinking lower and lower to the ground, something like a mild panic attack starting from the back of her neck and blossoming through her brain.

“Bonnie?” he asked, and his voice was soft, gentle, the usual hint of teasing gone, and it _hurt_ her.

She didn’t want him to go. Ever since he had come into her life, she had felt safe and protected and watched over in a way she hadn’t felt since her grandmother died. If she were truly honest with herself, Dr. Parker made her feel safe in a way she hadn’t felt even in those years _before_ she stepped into the supernatural world.

Plus no matter what he said, this town was a beacon to supernaturals. Between her friend the doppelganger and her best friend the vampire, it was only a matter of time before trouble came knocking and once again, she was all that stood between it and her town.

These last few months with Dr. Parker had spoilt Bonnie. Had made her forget the price her power paid. Forget that she was far more than a teenage high school girl in between boyfriends. He had more than shielded her. He had made her fall in love with magic again, reminded – or perhaps more truly, taught – her to love her gift for its own sake, and not for the way it could be used.

But now he was leaving, and everything he meant to her – being safe, being happy with her powers – was leaving with him.

She didn’t even want to start thinking about her nebulous crush that sometimes felt far more powerful and tangible than a mere teenage fixation. She couldn’t think about it because she would just break down and cry.

He was leaving her.

And there was nothing she could do to stop him.

“Bonnie?” he said again, and was it her imagination that there was pain in his voice?

 _You stupid girl._ She told herself furiously.

“Yeah,” she replied with a big, bright smile and her preppy cheerleader voice. “You definitely need to work on that tan. See you around, Dr. P.”

Before she turned around, she could swear that the woman in the picture was looking at her with disappointment.

Bonnie definitely imagined him calling her name after she slammed the door shut. She walked quickly down the hallway, each step faster than the last until she was running down it, and out of the building.

She was crying by the time she reached her car, the tear-storm that her kidnapping had interrupted, now fully returned. How perverse that a part of her almost wished another brain-addled human would come out of the shadows and grab her again. At least, it would force him to stay longer, maybe even rethink leaving at all.

She laughed at herself bitterly when she realized that she was actually lingering on purpose, for just that ‘opportunity’. What the hell was wrong with her? Dr. Parker might stay and ‘rescue’ her but eventually, he would leave, just like everyone else did. He was a much older man, with a practice and a coven, a whole _life_ that she was not a part of, waiting for him in Portland. Maybe even a wife.

She didn’t know. She’d never know. She’d had already had these thoughts before. So why did they still hurt?

As she drove home, wiping the tears that won’t stop falling, she reminded herself that it was a good thing. This crush had been getting too big, too painful, too out of control. She was this close to falling in love with him.

_This close? You really think you haven’t already-_

This close to falling in love with him! She told herself firmly. But not there yet, and hopefully, with him gone, she’d be able to move past this infatuation and find happiness elsewhere in her life.

She had to.


End file.
